Horror Movie Review: The Haunting of Hollywood (2024)

A surreal experience that blends psychological horror with supernatural chills, The Haunting of Hollywood comes from writer and director, Lilia Doytchinova and stars William Mann, Stefanie Infante, David Lami Freibe, and Tiffany Downey.

James (William Mann) and his girlfriend, Skyler (Stefanie Infante) are heading off to LA, both wanting to make it big in the film industry. He is an aspiring filmmaker, and she is an aspiring actor, and they are planning to meet up with their musician friend, Casey (David Lami Freibe), who is already in Los Angeles.

A character who dreams of making it big but has had to settle (for now) to playing his music on street corners for a buck or two. Of course, that won’t happen to James and Skyler though, they are going to make it in Hollywood, just like James’ mother Olivia (Tiffany Downey) tried, and failed to do, years before.

This, and his difficult relationship with her, as told through flashbacks, drives much of James motivation. He hasn’t just come to Hollywood to be somebody; he’s hoping to reunite with somebody. Just what happened between him and his mother and did her dreams of fame and fortune damage him as much as it did her?

The Haunting of Hollywood explores fears around failure, futility, and feelings of inadequacy as they relate to the Hollywood dream. Everyone wants to be a star, but so few ever actually manage to become one, with the majority churned up and spat out by the machine. It is this fate that befell James’ mother Olivia, and it drove her mad. Something that has had a long-lasting effect on James.

Their relationship and how poisonous it was results in some of the better moments of the film. Especially from the psychological aspects, where James is figuratively haunted by his mother and her demands that he help make her a star. This works well as a thriller/horror up until the point where it starts to try and introduce supernatural aspects to the story. Is James only being haunted by his trauma or is there something more literal going on? Thankfully, the film does manage to play it coy, ensuring that we’re never too sure of what is actually just in James’ head.

All of this might make The Haunting of Hollywood sound like a quality film, but unfortunately, there’s plenty that isn’t so enjoyable. Notably, the rest of the cast who are playing characters barely worth noticing, let alone investing in. However, a poor editing job that makes the story less coherent is frustrating too, and that the final section of the film changes the tone so significantly, it’s jarring. Be warned, the latter part of the film decides to introduce found footage elements for reasons that make zero sense.

Is it to heighten the horror? The Haunting of Hollywood isn’t a scary film, and a sudden influx of shaky and ugly camera work isn’t going to change that. What it is, is a film with some tension and psychological flair. Had this been the entire focus of the film, it might have been so much better overall, but alas, that’s not the case. It’s still a solid flick with plenty of memorable moments though.